what makes a great dev team - mike robinson

What makes a great Development Team?

What are the challenges faced by development teams and how do they meet them.

Mike Robinson

Who are you?

Who are we?

1 - What is the problem?

2 - How do we solve the problem?

1 - What is the problem?

From the customer’s point of view

From the development team’s point of view

2 - How do we solve the problem?

Process

Technology

Tools

People

ToolsProcess

Technology Successful Projects

People

©2007 Deloitte MCS Limited. Private and Confidential

Heavy

Medium

Light

Different methods are usually viewed as being more or less lightweight, in practice methods contain some elements that are appropriate for different scales of Software Development

RUP

Scrum

RAD

FDD

DSDM

WaterfallXP

Crystal

©2007 Deloitte MCS Limited. Private and Confidential

Value

Core Practices

Values

Heavy

Medium

Light

Regardless of scale or complexity, all Software Development projects should be based on a set of core values and practices

Values

C h a n g e

Simplicity

Commitment

visibility

C ol la bora

t io

n

Process

“You improvise. You adapt. You overcome.”

Clint EastwoodIn Heartbreak Ridge

How do we select the right approach to use on a project?

• No one method fits all projects. We must evaluated projects based on criteria such as the size, culture, risk, and potential for change; before selecting a suitable approach and then the process must be adapted and improved over time to better fit the environment in which it sits.

• By following these steps an initial approach for a project can be found:

EvaluateAdd

additionalControls

Select Approach

Review &Adapt

©2007 Deloitte MCS Limited. Private and Confidential

Value

Core Practices

Values

Aversion to risk

Criticality

External Dependencies Stability of requirements

Team(s) geographicallydispersed?

Cultural demand for order & control (Governance)

Size - Requirements

Heavy

Medium

Light

Size - Personnel

EvaluateAdd

additionalControls

Select Approach

Review &AdaptEvaluate the project

NotesEvaluate the project based on the criteria that have been selected for the organisation.

©2007 Deloitte MCS Limited. Private and Confidential

Value

Core Practices

Values

Aversion to risk

Criticality

External Dependencies Stability of requirements

Team(s) geographicallydispersed?

Cultural demand for order & control (Governance)

Size - Requirements

Heavy

Medium

Light

Size - Personnel

EvaluateAdd

additionalControls

Select Approach

Review &AdaptEvaluate the project

NotesScore the project on each criteria based on a range and metrics selected by the organisation.

©2007 Deloitte MCS Limited. Private and Confidential

Value

Core Practices

Values

Aversion to risk

Criticality

External Dependencies Stability of requirements

Team(s) geographicallydispersed?

Cultural demand for order & control (Governance)

Size - Requirements

Heavy

Medium

Light

Size - Personnel

Select Approach EvaluateAdd

additionalControls

Select Approach

Review &Adapt

NotesSelect the simplest method which will achieve the project. Light in this case.

©2007 Deloitte MCS Limited. Private and Confidential

Value

Core Practices

Values

Aversion to risk

Criticality

External Dependencies Stability of requirements

Team(s) geographicallydispersed?

Cultural demand for order & control (Governance)

Size - Requirements

Heavy

Medium

Light

Size - Personnel

Add Additional Controls

NotesIdentify the areas where additional controls are required.

Evaluate

Add additionalControls

Select Approach

Review &Adapt

©2007 Deloitte MCS Limited. Private and Confidential

Level Measure Control

High

Light

Medium

Size - Personnel

2-12

12-50

50+

Daily meetings

Multi skilled team

Deliver small and fast

Team of teams meeting

More up front planning

Split work around architecture

Continuously Integrate at multiple levels

Hierarchical requirements

Collaboration tools

Start small then scale

Confirm architecture first

©2007 Deloitte MCS Limited. Private and Confidential

Value

Core Practices

Values

Aversion to risk

Criticality

External Dependencies Stability of requirements

Team(s) geographicallydispersed?

Cultural demand for order & control (Governance)

Size - Requirements

Heavy

Medium

Light

Size - Personnel

Review and Adapt

NotesAs part of the same feedback loops put in place for reviewing the system, the process should also be review to see where it could be simplified or improved.

EvaluateAdd

additionalControls

Select Approach

Review &Adapt

Lifecycle for Light

Product Owner

Project Manager

Team

Stakeholders

Users

Product Owner

Project Manager

Team

Stakeholders

Users

Preparation

ProduceBusiness Case

&Vision

RequirementsAnalysis

ProduceInitial Project

Backlog&

Release Plan

IterationPlanning

Update ProjectBacklog

&Agree Iteration

Backlog

DesignReviewWorkingSoftware

Project wrap up

Project Review&

Training&

Support

Iterative Phase 2-4 WeeksPhases

Build

Deploy

Test

Daily15min

MeetingRolesRoles

Project & Iteration Backlog

Impediments List

Project, Release & Iteration burn down

Working Software

Project & Iteration Backlog

Impediments List

Project, Release & Iteration burn down

Working Software

ArtifactsArtifacts

ReviewProcess

Conclusion

• No one method fits all projects, all of the time

• Start with people

• Get you principles right and the process will sort itself

• Selecting the right method is as much an art and as it is a science

• Review and adapt

“If you want a guarantee, buy a toaster.”

Clint EastwoodIn The Rookie

Contact Details

Mike Robinsonmicrobinson@deloitte.co.uk